Split Second - Catherine Coulter [96]
“That’s fantastic, Mr. Levine,” Lucy said and beamed at him.
Coop asked him, “Did you ever see his wife, Mr. Levine?”
Mr. Levine nodded. “They ate breakfast together the past two mornings here in our dining room. I eat when I come on duty, that’s one of my perks, and so I saw them. That’s how I know. She ate a bowl of prunes and a load of muffins. I remember that because she was so skinny and those muffins are loaded with fat. Go figure. As for Mr. Cane, he ate cereal, I believe, and a banana. More healthy. He looked really fit, a sharp dresser. I heard several of the waitresses talking about how cute he was, with his thick hair, and especially in his aviator glasses.”
“How did she look? How was she dressed, Mr. Levine, do you remember?”
“She had long blond hair, real thick, sort of curly, hanging down her back. She was wearing blue jeans and one of those skinny knit tops. That’s how I could tell she was so skinny. I thought it was kind of chilly out for that getup. She looked, well, arty, I guess you could say. She was wearing bloodred lipstick, I remember thinking exactly that, and her face was real white. I think it was makeup.”
Lucy said, “Do you remember anything else about them, Mr. Levine? Anything they did that was out of the ordinary?”
Ricky thought about that, then slowly nodded. “It was the oddest thing. I was doing a double shift last night. I happened to be looking outside and saw him walking to his car. Like I told you, most times I saw him, he was dressed really sharp. But last night he was dressed more like my brother the nerd, you know, down to the black thick-framed glasses, pants too short, showing his white socks, and this crappy tweed jacket? And he had this dorky hat pulled down low over his head. Then she came out; her blond hair was gone, so I knew it was a wig. Now her hair was all short and black, and she was wearing a red blazer. I wondered if they were going to a costume party—” Mr. Levine swallowed, looked like he was going to throw up.
“And what, sir?”
Ricky leaned forward on the counter. “Well, before they left, they came in here to buy some gum, and she looked me right in the face. I’ll tell you, that look of hers was real hinky, and then she licked her lips, like she wanted to stick a fork in me. It scared the bejesus out of me.”
Ricky Levine wasn’t stupid, Coop thought. “Did she say anything to you?”
“No, but when they left to go to their car, she looked back at me, and then she started laughing.”
Lucy said, “Have you been watching the news on TV, Mr. Levine?”
He nodded slowly. “Some, you know, when I get a chance, the way you do when people are always interrupting, with kind of half an ear. Why?”
“Did you hear about the shoot-up last night at the Texas Range Bar and Grill here in Baltimore?”
“Yeah, I heard there was some trouble.” Then Ricky shook his head. “Didn’t hear what happened, though.”
“Did you happen to see a woman’s photo shown on the news?”
This was clearly a stretch, then Ricky said, “Yes, wait, I do remember seeing a woman’s photo on the tube.”
Lucy said, “She’s the same woman who stayed here. She’s Mrs. Cane. She’s Ted Bundy’s daughter, Mr. Levine. If the opportunity arose, she would have stuck a fork in your face.”
Mr. Levine’s fingers went to his cheek. Then he cocked his head to one side, looked at her blankly. “Who’s Ted Bundy?”
Savich was putting out an APB on the blue Chevy Cobalt while they walked down the hall to room 151.
Coop said, “So they stole the car here in Maryland. I hope they didn’t kill anyone.”
“We’ll know soon enough,” Lucy said. “I hope it doesn’t occur to Kirsten to steal another car just yet.”
Coop said, “I wonder where Daddy is guiding her steps now?”
“To Dillon, that’s what he said.” Lucy added, “And that scares me to my toes.”
“Did you believe him, Savich?” Coop asked him.
Savich said, “No, not really.”
Lucy frowned at him, then said, “Do you think